I’ve got 3 pedal sets here and geez would like to standardize on just one - two bikes and might be getting a 3rd:
Crank Brothers Candy 1
Look Keo
Shimano
The Crank Bros is a really cool, simple design and feels most organic to me. You know they are going to be reliable. I have been riding these for a few months first on the Tri bike, now I put them on my Pinarello. Great float, can pull up hills no problem, never let me down (so far)
The Looks are nice pedal too, clip in a out great, good design but more complex w/little parts & doesn’t feel quite like the Candy
Shimano - older model from '08 ->>they’re out, hate 'em.
I ride egg beaters on all my bikes too. They are super cheap from performance bike. I standardized all my bikes and shoes. Way easier. I am pretty sure the performance of pedals has nothing to do with speed. The most expensive out there and the cheapest like egg beaters, are basically the same speed. Perhaps the expensive ones are faster because of the significantly lighter wallet
I have about 6 pairs of various Crank Brothers pedals. I love them, but they are exclusively on MTB, Cross, and commuter bikes. Definitley are not my choice for the straight road riding. They just don’t have a wide enough, solid enough platform. They are outstanding for being able to clip in and out for the off road stuff though. I’m kind of surprised this many people use them for the road.
Nice bonus of Crank brothers is the ability to rebuild a pedal, I’ve done this a few times, and it’s great to only have to spend less than $20 instead of buying a whole new pedal. I’ve hard really good service from their returns department when one of my wings broke. They replaced it for free at their “pedal spa”. I have had one pedal come completely out of the spindle. But I chalk that up to lack of maintenance on my part. I rebuilt it and it’s been great ever since.
Haven’t used their road pedals. I wouldn’t want to give up my time’s they’re just so nice (going on 8+ years now!)
i sort of feel like you’re answering your own question here. crank bros!
for what it’s worth, my wife and i run different systems (speedplay v. look) on the road, but spd for commuters, touring and MTB. it’s so, so convenient to run a single system, with a single set of spare pedals, cleats, etc. i think once our current road setups die, we’ll move all our pedals over to one system and be done with it.
I’ve not ridden, let alone raced, the Candy, but a previous incarnation, the no-longer-made Quattro.
The Quattro was a favorite for a long time for all of the reasons mentioned, plus it was really easy to get in & out of. These were used for the 2008 & 2009 seasons (including Coeur d’Alene in 2009) to decent results (not in Coeur d’Alene, but that had naught to do with the pedals) and with no issues clipping in reliably or unclipping unexpectedly. Ultimately, the Quattro was replaced because my shop told me the cleats were no longer available. I don’t believe the Candy was yet available, or, in any event, had my interest, so I ditched Crank Brothers altogether.
The Candy has been available since at least 2005 (I know as I have a pair from then still going strong (rebuilt once)). You’re comparing apples and orange though. The Candy is an off road pedal and the Quattro was meant to be a road pedal.
I can’t even recall looking at the bottom of my mid range Specialized Road Comp shoes…do you know if Spec. still makes their soles with 2 bolt direct compatibility? Was thinking about trying some Eggys to see how the fore/aft was…thanks either way.
I have about 6 pairs of various Crank Brothers pedals. I love them, but they are exclusively on MTB, Cross, and commuter bikes. Definitley are not my choice for the straight road riding. They just don’t have a wide enough, solid enough platform. They are outstanding for being able to clip in and out for the off road stuff though. I’m kind of surprised this many people use them for the road.
+1… I have 3 sets of Eggbeaters for MTB, touring, etc when I want a walkable sole, but for straight road/TT use I’m a Speedplay guy.
Except for a six-month excursion on Time in 2005, I’ve been using Look for 25 years. I finally broke down and bought a pair of the new Shimano 105s for $60. A few months later I now have two pair of 105s. They are the best clipless pedals I have owned, the cleats are far better than the Looks and spending more on their upper end pedals is just a waste of money. I’m not even sure how shimano gets people to buy the Ultegra or Dura-ace.
Did I mention those 105 pedals are the best I have ever owned at 1/3 to 1/4 the price of other pedals I have bought?
Chad
Moving from looks I don’t think you had a very high threshold to beat. I know looks are popular, but most of them really are not that great. And for many years they had such problem with squeaky cleats.
But then how do I justify having more than one pair of sweet cycling shoes?
You’ll still need different shoes for different disciplines and for accessorizing, so it’s all good.
